ZEROBASE and the Return of AI Narratives in Korea’s Market
1. Market Overview
Last week, major Korean exchanges added multiple new listings, with Upbit onboarding Yield Guild Games and ZEROBASE, while Bithumb listed Infinit, Doodles, Yield Basis, and ZEROBASE. Upbit maintained its dominance in overall trading activity, driven largely by major assets. XRP ($1.92B) led the exchange, followed by BTC ($1.59B), ETH ($1.54B), and USDT ($1.41B), signaling continued focus on large-cap stability. Mid-tier tokens such as ZBT ($1.15B), SOL ($862M), and DOGE ($642M) saw steady participation, while emerging listings like ENA and MNT drew notable retail attention.
On Bithumb, trading was led by USDT ($1.80B), with XRP ($869M), BTC ($662M), and ETH ($617M) following closely. Activity in SOL, DOGE, WLD, ENA, and PENGU highlighted growing diversity among retail traders, though at smaller scale compared to Upbit. Combined trading volumes peaked above $10B between October 10–12, before normalizing later in the week, underscoring Korea’s strong liquidity even during global market uncertainty. Notably, LA led weekly gains across both exchanges, surging 25–31%, while AUCTION, META, and EDU also performed strongly, reflecting renewed mid-cap momentum and synchronized market sentiment across platforms.
2. Exchanges
2-1. Newly Listed Coins
Last week, major Korean exchanges introduced several new listings:
- Upbit listed Yield Guild Games and ZEROBASE.
- Bithumb listed Infinit, Doodles, Yield Basis and ZEROBASE.
| Date | Upbit | Bithumb | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10/13 (Mon) | |||
| 10/14 (Tue) | |||
| 10/15 (Wed) | Yield Guild Games (YGG) | ||
| 10/16 (Thu) | |||
| 10/17 (Fri) | ZEROBASE (ZBT) | Infinit (IN), Doodles (DOOD), Yield Basis (YB), ZEROBASE (ZBT) |
Key Marketing Strategies & Takeaways
🔹 ZEROBASE (ZBT)
ZEROBASE is a project that entered the Korean market around late December 2024 to early 2025 — a period when AI narratives were beginning to dominate the crypto space.
At that time, simple AI-related projects and AI agent concepts were popular, but given the Korean community’s tendency to always look for “the next trend” to gain early exposure, attention soon shifted toward the TEE (Trusted Execution Environment) sector.
ZEROBASE effectively leveraged this dynamic by promoting itself as a TEE-based project through various KOL channels and encouraging stablecoin deposits during its beta phase.
While staking or deposit programs are often perceived as requiring a significant amount of capital, ZEROBASE emphasized accessibility — allowing deposits as low as $10 and offering a short two-week staking period. This approach successfully attracted a large number of users.
After a period of relative silence lasting more than six months, ZEROBASE re-engaged with the Korean community just before its TGE. Through KOL channels, it indirectly informed previous participants that the TGE was approaching and shared organized updates covering topics such as Binance Wallet Booster Program participation, Binance Alpha mentions, upcoming exchange listings, tokenomics, and airdrop details.
2-2. Trading Volume
During the past week, Upbit’s total trading volume continued to outpace Bithumb’s, maintaining a clear dominance across major assets. XRP led Upbit with $1.92B in volume, followed by BTC at $1.59B, ETH at $1.54B, and USDT at $1.41B, showing strong investor focus on large-cap assets. Mid-cap tokens such as ZBT ($1.15B), SOL ($862M), and DOGE ($642M) also saw steady trading activity, while emerging tokens like ENA and MNT appeared within the top ranks, reflecting retail traders’ ongoing appetite for new listings.
On Bithumb, USDT topped the weekly chart with $1.80B in trading volume, followed by XRP ($869M), BTC ($662M), and ETH ($617M). SOL and DOGE recorded moderate but consistent volume, while smaller-cap tokens such as WLD, ENA, and PENGU showed rising participation, hinting at a gradual diversification of trader interest beyond major pairs.
Overall, both exchanges saw heightened activity around October 10–12, when combined daily trading volume briefly exceeded $10B before normalizing toward the end of the week. Upbit maintained a higher contribution throughout the period, reinforcing its position as the leading retail-driven exchange in Korea, while Bithumb’s volume spikes appeared concentrated around altcoin movements and liquidity bursts.
2-3. Top 10 Gainers
LA led both Upbit and Bithumb as the strongest performer of the week, posting a 25.39% gain on Upbit and an even higher 31.19% on Bithumb, driven by renewed retail speculation and increased liquidity inflows. On Upbit, AUCTION (+17.86%) and META (+10.53%) followed as notable risers, supported by consistent trading volume and mid-cap momentum. Other tokens such as PUNDIX (+7.47%), COMP (+3.71%), and ENA (+3.16%) also recorded modest weekly gains, while stablecoin pairs like USDT, USDC, and USD1 saw slight positive shifts, reflecting stable market conditions rather than speculative demand.
On Bithumb, AUCTION (+25.44%) and EDU (+19.91%) joined LA in leading the weekly surge, followed by B3 (+16.04%) and PUNDIX (+15.45%)—indicating strong cross-exchange alignment in trader interest. Smaller-cap assets such as ACS (+14.50%), CUDIS (+13.57%), and FORT (+5.95%) gained traction, suggesting Bithumb’s user base remains sensitive to emerging narratives and event-driven rallies. ENA’s appearance in the top 10 on both exchanges further highlights its growing relevance across Korean retail markets.
3. Korean Community Buzz
3-1. Palantir’s First-Ever Pop-Up Store Opens in Seoul
Palantir chose Korea as the location for its first-ever pop-up store, held on October 14–15 in Seongsu, Seoul — a nod to the company’s surging popularity among Korean investors. Korea now hosts the world’s second-largest Palantir investor community.
According to Eliano Eunice, Palantir’s Head of Strategic Partnerships, “Palantir is growing rapidly in Korea, and this pop-up was designed to engage with our passionate fans here.” The pop-up featured six types of merchandise, with sticker packs priced at 30,000 KRW and hoodies at 215,000 KRW, both selling out after long queues of up to five hours.
In Korean crypto circles, the event drew wry comparisons to “Web2 meetup meta,” with jokes like: “At KBW, events are free — but in Web2, fans happily pay for hoodies.” The turnout once again demonstrated the strong consumer power of Korea’s retail investor base — whether in stocks or crypto.
3-2. Binance’s Gopax Acquisition Officially Approved
On October 16, Korean regulators approved Binance’s long-pending executive change request, effectively completing its acquisition of Gopax, a local crypto exchange. Binance first acquired a 67% stake in Gopax back in February 2023, but the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) had delayed approval for over two years.
Analysts view the timing as a positive regulatory signal, suggesting that Korean authorities are becoming more open to global exchange participation following the easing of Binance’s compliance risks abroad. Community sentiment has been largely optimistic: if Binance commits to expanding in Korea, it’s likely to focus on derivatives and futures, potentially growing the domestic market 4–5x in size rather than merely competing for existing users.
3-3. OpenSea Chest Opening Craze — Two of Three CryptoPunks Won by Koreans
During the ongoing OpenSea Season 2 event, Korean traders made headlines after winning two out of the only three available CryptoPunks through opening the chests. One of the winners, a well-known NFT KOL named Yobeully, shared a recording of the moment he opened the box — the post quickly went viral on Telegram, garnering over 22K views and waves of community congratulations.
However, while the excitement spread, some users voiced caution: “Stories like this are fun but dangerous — 99% lose, 1% win, and the FOMO can cost people real money.” The discussion reflected the community’s growing awareness of both the thrill and the risk behind gamified NFT reward systems.
4. How many event updates are waiting for us this week?
4-1. GAIB AMA with 4 KOLs
✔️Date: Oct 20th
✔️Time: 20:00 PM KST
✔️Space: GAIB Twitter
4-2. Synfutrues AMA with fireant
✔️Date: Oct 21st
✔️Time: 21:00 PM KST
✔️Space: Fireant Youtube
4-3. Sentient Community night in Korea
✔️Date: Oct 24th Friday
✔️Time: 18:30 PM - 21:30 PM KST
✔️RSVP
It’s been an exciting week in Korea, with various events taking place and a dynamic market keeping us all on our toes! Stay tuned for more updates, and if you'd like to receive this report every week, make sure to subscribe. For the latest news and insights on the Korean market, follow us on Twitter for all the action!